French Secularists Win Battle To Remove Virgin Mary From Shore Of Lake Geneva
A small town in France has been ordered to remove a statue of the Virgin Mary from the shores of Lake Geneva or risk a fine of £80, or more than $100, a day.
A court in Grenoble has ordered Publier in Haute-Savoie in eastern France to remove the statue because in French law it qualifies as a religious symbol in a public space.
Such symbols are banned in France, which also does not allow Muslims to wear a full face veil in public.
The blue marble statue, inscribed with the words: "Our Lady of the Lake Geneva, watch over your children", currently sits in a public park. The Mayor Gaston Lacroix pledged to try and find piece of private land to put it on, which would solve the problem.
The statue was first erected in 2011, without consutation with the local authority. A court first ruled against it in January last year but Lacroix did not move it.
According to local news reports, the statue was originally taxpayer funded at a cost of about £30,000 or $38,000. It was then sold to a religious culturual association after an appeal for funds.
Right-wing politician Jacques Clostermann, of the Front National party, was among many who protested the ruling on social media.
He tweeted: "I think I have an open mind, but I can't stand this new tyranny."
Sabine, from Nice, descrcribed it as a "secular Inquisition":
Others tweeted of France's "shame":
Lacroix told Le Monde. "I'm not deaf to the decisions of the court." He said he had just not received a specific injunction. "I am a Republican elected guarantor of secularism. We will find a private property."
The court ruled the decision to erect the statue was "contrary to the principles of secularism". The case was brought by an association of free-thinkers.
